(Reuters) - AutoZone Inc <AZO.N>, the largest U.S. auto parts retailer, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit as U.S. customers undertook car repairs after a prolonged winter. The company, which faced weak demand a year ago as a warmer-than-usual winter resulted in less wear and tear to vehicles, said there was a noticeable improvement in its performance, mainly in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest in the final four weeks of the quarter.

By Greg Roumeliotis (Reuters) - Pactera Technology International Ltd <PACT.O> said on Monday that Blackstone Group LP <BX.N>, together with the company's management, made a $680.3 million non-binding proposal to take China's largest technology outsourcing firm private. Pactera said it expected its board of directors to form a special committee of independent directors to consider the consortium's offer of $7.50 per share. Pactera shares surged 31.1 percent to $6.90.

(Reuters) - Teen apparel retailer Urban Outfitters Inc's <URBN.O> sales missed analysts' estimates even as reduced discounting helped shore up profit in the first quarter. Shares of the company fell as much as 4 percent to $42.77 in post-market trading on Monday. An unusually long winter in large parts of the United States has dampened demand for spring merchandise, which are a staple at Urban's stores that include Anthropologie and Free People.

By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider whether a town in New York endorsed religion by allowing members of the public to open meetings with a prayer. Two residents sued Greece, New York, in 2008, saying it was endorsing Christianity, a violation of the Constitution's First Amendment guarantee of separation of church and state.